On January 7-9, 2015, three attacks in Paris claimed
17 lives, either because the individuals were cartoonists at Charlie Hebdo, uniformed police officers, or
simply Jewish. The triple attack united the French
national conscience around its founding principles and
led to an unprecedented mobilization of the international community, notably via social media.

French American International School chose to immediately interrupt its standard schedule in the middle
and high school in order to give voice to its students,
and to make them aware of the attack’s stakes against
democratic values. Teachers reviewed what took place
in class, and encouraged students to ask questions,
discuss or analyze cartoons published the day of the attack in solidarity with the victims from Charlie Hebdo.

Several days later students listened to the speech given
by President François Hollande, before observing a
minute of silence in honor of the victims.

Middle school students also participated in a stand-alone assembly dedicated to the events in question.

Tenth graders from the French section were invited to
explain to their fellow students the significance of “Je
suis Charlie,” “Je suis policier,” “Je suis Mohammed,”
and “Je suis juif”—memes that appeared ubiquitously
in social media and around the world shortly after
the attacks. The sophomores further shared their own
drawings, illustrating how they felt about the events.

Afterward, the students were asked to develop their
own Charlie Hebdo covers celebrating the values of
tolerance and liberty, and to write letters addressed
to the families of the victims. This creative exercise
enabled many students to offer nuanced and touching
testimonies, underscoring the emotion elicited by our
entire community, in solidarity with France during its
time of need.